'Keep going' the idea said.
A line from the poem: The Cave by Paul Tran, spoke to me this week as we headed into the darkness.
Dear all
If you are new here, hello and welcome! I am Mel Parks and I have been running creative writing workshops in Sussex, UK for ten years while being a freelance writer, researcher and editor. I began this Substack, Awen, in 2022 as a gathering place for my thoughts about the writing process and to share some stories and creative inspiration along the way. Awen is free to read and share.
I run a weekly Tuesday afternoon (2-3pm UK time) guided creative writing session on live on Zoom for paid members. If you’d like to join, click the subscribe button and choose paid membership for £8 per month or £80 per year. If you are not able to subscribe (or don’t want to!), then please email me for alternative ways to join.
Dear all
Just in case you didn't know by now, I am a writer first, but I also LOVE running creative writing workshops. For so many reasons…
planning them is part of my creative process. I come up with themes that I want to explore myself and sometimes I surprise myself by noticing that I have been returning to the same themes for years. For instance, when gathering resources for week’s theme of ‘Cave’, I found descriptions I’d written of a cenote or underground lake in Mexico as well as a welcoming safe cave of a healer in a novel I began once which had a story line set in the Stone Age!
it is an amazing privilege to hear the words people share after a short burst writing exercise or prompt. And also with my Thursday morning group, who take the time each week between the sessions to write something for sharing on the weekly theme. This is considered writing which leads to the kind of connection we don’t normally have time to create in everyday life. People share stories and adventures from their lives with their unique voice and perspective.
I find the magic of the creative process (or awen) fascinating. I think this is because I was a relatively late starter. If you’d asked me at any age before 30, I’d have said I was not creative or imaginative at all and that I couldn’t write though I loved to read and was drawn to the written word for work. Now, at 52, having made creativity my work, I still struggle to follow through at times, but I think it’s because I have SO MANY creative ideas, I find it hard to pick and to know which path is the right one. Which is why exercises such as last week’s labyrinth are so useful to me.
This week’s cave theme led me to this poem: ‘The Cave’ by Paul Tran. It is a brilliant example of how following an idea works. I love this line: ‘Keep going, the idea said.’ As if ideas are an entity in themselves, a concept that Elizabeth Gilbert explores in her book, Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear. I love the concept that the ideas are already there, we just need to create space in our lives to notice them, follow them and keep on going.
The other thing I noticed about the cave writing I heard this week was more connected with writing technique. In my past writing about caves, there is always light to see by. It might be coming from a single source or my eyes might take time to adjust to the darkness, but there was always some light. What I noticed this week in writing shared by other people was what happens to characters (and people) when you take away one of the senses. In this case, sight. In a cave, at times it could feel the same whether your eyes are open or closed.
Creative writing prompt
In fiction, how would your characters react if you took away their ability to see temporarily in a night or cave scene? Would the other senses be heightened? How would you describe this?
Alternatively, here’s a starter for you from ‘The Cave’ by Paul Tran:
‘Keep going, the idea said.’
Write this down, then continue with your own freewriting.
Creative Writing Workshops with me (Mel Parks)
Weekly hour-long, guided creative writing workshops on Tuesdays (2-3pm) on Zoom
£8 per month or £80 per year with a paid Awen Substack subscription.
We started a new season last week, but you can join in anytime.
Break: 28 May & 4 June
Last session: 16 July.
12 weekly sessions altogether. You can come to as many as you are able to.
If you are not able to subscribe (or don’t want to!), then please email me for alternative ways to join.
Monthly Tuesday evenings in East Grinstead, Sussex, UK (7-9pm)
Thursday mornings in East Grinstead, Sussex, UK (10-12noon)
Series of five weeks beginning on 13 June (13 June; 20 June; 27 June; 4 July; 11 July)
If you attend my face-to-face groups regularly, you can also attend the Zoom group for no extra charge.
I have an online space where I post exercises and other resources so you can catch up if you miss a session or you'd like to return to something after the workshop.
Until next time…
This newsletter was created by Mel Parks, a writer, researcher and workshop facilitator based in Sussex, UK. Mel runs writing workshops locally and on Zoom and researches creativity in midlife as well as her personal connection to nature. She has been widely published and is currently working on a series of moon and plant-inspired essays.
It is free to read and share, but if you value my work, please do stop by my virtual honesty box and leave a handful of loose change.
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